The Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been remanded in custody after he was accused of a seventh count of rape, involving a new complainant. Mendy, 27, who was already accused of a series of sexual offences, was charged last week with the further count of rape, but this was subject to reporting restrictions. The restrictions were lifted on Wednesday as Mendy appeared at Chester crown court for a hearing before his trial next year. The charge relates to an alleged offence in July this year. Mendy appeared in court wearing a black suit and white shirt. He spoke only to confirm his name during the 40-minute hearing, and he followed the proceedings through an interpreter. The footballer is now accused of eight offences against five women, including seven counts of rape relating to four women. The earlier charges are three counts of rape, alleged to have happened on 11 October 2020; sexual touching on 2 January 2021; one count of rape on 24 July 2021, and two counts of rape on 23 August 2021. The France international appeared alongside his co-defendant, Louis Saha Matturie, 40, of Eccles, Greater Manchester, who is also accused of serious sexual offences against women. Mendy, of Prestbury, Cheshire, has been held in custody since his arrest on 26 August when he was charged with four counts of rape and one sexual assault. The judge Patrick Thompson remanded both defendants into custody at HMP Altcourse, Liverpool, until 7 January when a further pre-trial hearing will be held. A proposed trial date of 24 January next year has been rescheduled and Mendy’s trial will now start on either 27 June or 1 August. Mendy joined Manchester City from Monaco in 2017 for a reported £52m, which was then a record figure for a defender, and he has made 75 appearances. City suspended him after he was charged. In a statement in August, the club said: “Manchester City can confirm that following his being charged by police today, Benjamin Mendy has been suspended pending an investigation. The matter is subject to a legal process and the club is therefore unable to make further comment until that process is complete.” Mendy has made 10 appearances for the French national team and was part of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018, although his time on the field was restricted to 40 minutes off the substitutes’ bench against Denmark.